Buttons for an "orphan?"

Hey, all. I recently thrifted a jacket in a color I've heard called "charcoal blue" -- imagine the color of a particularly dark slate sidewalk. It's my only lightweight, well-fitting sportcoat, and I'd really like to make it work.

The only problem -- if it's not a suit that's lost its trousers, then it's doing a great impression of one. It's plain worsted, and none of the details mark it out as a sportcoat. If it were navy, I'd just add gold buttons. If it were a true gray, I'd have left it behind. Since it's this blue-gray, though, I could use a hand in figuring out what buttons to put on it -- the current set are navy plastic. Here are my thoughts:

- Silver (not too shiny) -- This appeals, since navy blazers with gold buttons could not be any further inside my comfort zone. I just worry that it might look odd somehow, or that my instincts are wrong on this.

- Tan horn -- I worry that these won't do enough to mark the jacket out as a sportcoat, but that may be in my head.

- MOP -- But would the white be too stark, and can I get them cheaply?

Please let me know any other suggestions or opinions. Thanks very much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crinklecut 

What about these tan corozo buttons?

You might consider having some elbow patches applied too, to make it seem less like an orphaned jacket.

Those are interesting, thanks. I'll have to consider them -- I guess my concern about tan is that I'd need to find a cool tan -- buttons in a warm tan wouldn't quite work on a jacket in such a cool color.

As for elbow patches... I see them as a very "country" touch, and by virtue of this jacket's cloth and detailing, it's a very "city" garment. I mean, elbow patches on navy blazers and other relatively dressy sportcoats are kind of "in" right now, but even then I feel they're not quite in keeping with the coat.

If I were to go for elbow patches, what material would be best?

It's about what I think of as "normal" -- no big shoulder pads, but very much a structured jacket. There's a certain point of formality it'll never go below.

Suede is, to me, the default for elbow pads. Any color suggestions, or alternate materials I could consider? There's something kind of funky about the houndstooth patches on this Howard Yount jacket, but I don't know if I'd be barking up the wrong tree putting something similar on mine.

http://www.howardyount.com/collections/jackets/products/fall-jacket-brown-with-houndstooth-patches